For the past 18 years, Publisher Josh Colvin has been wrapped up in writing, gathering articles and everything else needed to produce a bi-monthly magazine focused on small boats and sailing.

When he decided to take on writing a children’s book, the Port Townsend resident found himself in less familiar waters.

“Like with everything, there’s a learning curve,” he said, “And, for me, the trick has been finding time for additional projects.”

While putting together his children’s book, he has been busy managing his pair of other ventures, Duckworks Boat Builders Supply, and the 80-plus page magazine, “Small Craft Advisor.” Thanks to his publishing expertise and experience in the nautical trades, Colvin is setup for success.

“It certainly fits with what I do,” he said.

With most the work now behind him, Colvin is ready to release his first children’s book, “Rusty Hooks & the Great Sailboat Race,” which he plans to sell and read at this year’s Wooden Boat Festival.

As for the book’s origins, Colvin said the idea came from his interactions with so many seasoned sailors and from reading books to his children.

“Having three kids and hanging around a bunch of old salts, the idea clicked,” he said. “Reading so many children’s books, it was a natural.”

As a writer and publisher whose work has been primarily non-fiction, Colvin took to fiction pretty skillfully, he said, demonstrating a good handle of the pace and feel of how a children’s book flows in terms of story and structure.

Modeled loosely on the tried and true Aesop’s Fable of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” the story follows an old salt, a name given to those who have years of experience on the sea, and his dog who get involved in a sailing race against long odds. Thanks to their better seamanship, and following procedures any good sailor would know, they ultimately triumph while the other mariners fail for various reasons. Colvin wrote in an AABB rhyming format for each page, which gives the written descriptions of the action a bouncy feel for readers.

Aimed at ages 4 to 8, Colvin said it is also important the book captured the interest of the adult who might be the one initially picking it up in many cases.

“With books where you’re reading to kids, as opposed to them reading it themselves, you want it to be interesting for the adults as well,” he said.

With that in mind, he weaves in a few references and jokes adults and seasoned sailors will catch when reading it aloud.

As to not “talk down” to his audience, the book’s vocabulary does not shy away from technical or nautical words, such as trimaran, barometer and helm. But to help educate young readers, a short glossary with the most unusual words is included.

“I like to treat the kids like they’ll understand it, so I put it all out there,” Colvin said.

The story is brought to life in pictures by local Illustrator Dennis Brooks. His style of watercolors and colored-pencil drawings allowed the characters, from the arrogant Chester Rockerfeller, with his 100-foot yacht “Hedge Fun,” to the impatient Wanda Wetbottom, with her speedy trimaran “Shark’s Tooth,” to stand off the page.

“He has a fun, childlike sense with his art,” Colvin said about why he approached Brooks to join the project.

Colvin imagined the book might be popular among grandparents, who will pick it up as a present for their grandchildren.

“If you are an older person who has spent time around boats, you might appreciate giving your grandkid a book that instills some of these lessons in a fun way,” he said.

The book’s focus on simplicity and “slow and steady wins the race” is not coincidental. The focus of his Small Craft Advisor magazine has been small boats and adventure, with an emphasis on “less is more.” Colvin said the trends have shifted around the country to something of a “back to basics” approach, deemphasizing the large vessels that could cost an aspiring sailor tens of thousands of dollars.

“I’m interested in a different kind of leisure class — one centered on accessible boating and beach cruising,” he said.

His experience on the water, writing and publishing, as well as being one of the instigators for the Race to the Alaska and other boating events, gave Colvin a leg up producing this sort of book.

“The subject matter is close to my heart for sure,” he said.

During the Wooden Boat Festival, Colvin plans to be selling and signing copies of “Rusty Hooks and the Great Sailboat Race” at his Small Craft Advisor booth in the Northwest Maritime Center commons. He will also have a children’s book reading at 2 p.m. Sept. 9 in the Kids Cove.